Why should a SQL tester?

Question

SQL

Recently, more and more often in the lists of vacancies for testers they write: “Knowledge of SQL” or “SQL at the level of understanding elementary queries”. Why should a SQL tester?
I asked testers I knew who had recently learned SQL: “Why?”. The answers were approximately: “because it is necessary”, “a familiar experienced tester advised”, “it will not be superfluous”.
So is it necessary? Maybe it's easier to write a couple of requests in Googledock and then copy-paste where necessary?

PS. I'm not out of idle interest - I'll read the answers and collect statistics at the same time :) Thanks in advance to all who answered :)

Answer 1

To give developers clearer feedback. Not "this red button doesn't do what it's supposed to do", but "you have an error in the XXX request".

Answer 2

What about SQL injections? Pretty common mistake.

Answer 3

If the tester's duties include not just clicking on buttons, but also some automation of testing, then a database (for example, with files that the program opens, with test results) can be very useful.

Answer 4

Testers often have to write automated tests, and it is most reasonable to merge the test results directly into the database so that other developers (programmers / debuggers) do not collect a bunch of log files on all computers (which the testers sit at), but take a sample immediately from this base.
Of course, you can ask the programmers themselves to write the right thing for the tester, thereby relieving him of the need to learn SQL , but from a business point of view, every time you write another test, distract programmers from the main task, or swell a bunch of funds to develop one universal one for all cases the life of the testing system is extremely unjustified.

Answer 5

For example, to fill the database with test data.
In general, the language is simple and understandable, why not learn? It will come in handy for sure in the life of any IT-person.

Answer 6

Since this has already been answered specifically here, let me summarize your question: does a tester need to know how the product they are testing is designed?
Accordingly, two options are possible here:
1. An ordinary tester, a black box, we press the buttons.
2. Unusual tester, gray-white box, let's do it to the fullest - autotests, automatic code analysis, code coverage analysis, test data generation, and so on.
In the second option, obviously, the more knowledge, the better.
But even in the first option, there is one important psychological point: knowing exactly how a particular product is developed often makes the tester less effective.
The tester begins to think: “Oh, how disgusting the fonts look here ... Well, this is .NET with its anti-aliasing, nothing can be done” - and does not start a ticket. Meanwhile, this is the problem of the manager and the developer - the choice of a specific framework; and the error is best considered based on the expectations of the end user of the product. He does not care what library was used there and for what purpose, he cares why everything is so slow and looks miserable.
Hence the semi-anecdotal cases when a woman accountant of 50 years old knows how to smash to shreds a program that a professional had previously checked and found nothing - because a professional, sympathizing (and with a programmer, he understands how much work it took to code this beautiful button, and written their product, sorry!), does not press the button until the poor program clears its throat. But the accountant has no such limitation.

Answer 7

So that the tester is able to fill the tables in the database with test data, especially for reporting. That could cope with localization in a DB. There are generally specific testers who test database applications and Data Warehouses, but most likely not your case.
Well, with any non-manual testing (and there is more and more of this now - applications are growing in complexity), SQL is a daily tool.

Answer 8

Here it is easier to describe the task with an example. For example, a programmer needs to make a program that parses an Excel file, writes data from it to the database, and then it is displayed somewhere on the site. Development is split in such a way that first comes the parsing, and then the creation of the interface. So, in order to check the correctness of the parser, and, accordingly, the data in the database, at the stage of the absence of an interface, the tester simply needs to know SQL.

Answer 9

One of my friends once said? that in fact there are only three languages: English, C and SQL.

Answer 10

Hello! It is possible to supplement the question, from the position of a person who is just starting to study automation?
Tell me what is the most commonly used SQL and what literature to choose in order to delve into the database?